This month is the 10th anniversary of London’s congestion charge. It was not quite the first such scheme (Singapore had been running theirs for almost 10 years) but it was certainly one of the earliest internationally visible Smarter City projects before the term had even been invented. So what can we learn 10 years on from their experience?

Prevailing opinion at the time was that it was an audacious experiment. Most people expected it not to work, & certainly not to be popular. But if it was a success, it would establish London as a pioneering city, with many others in the UK and elsewhere keen to emulate it.

How wrong that opinion was! Congestion charging has been a success with remarkably few technical problems and an acquiescent, if not wildly enthusiastic, public. It had an immediate impact on traffic volumes and congestion and London is a cleaner city as a result. Yet the follow on wave of implementations has not happened. Why not?

I think the reason is in how the benefits from congestion charging are delivered and communicated to the public. The economic case for congestion charging is hard to dispute – it is cheaper to implement than road building programmes and the benefits of reduced congestion, from fewer accidents, increased mobility and fewer emissions are considerable and proven. Yet these benefits are not clearly visible to the public, who only experience the inconvenience of adapting to a new way of paying for their commute. When proposed schemes are put to the public (as they were in Manchester, Edinburgh and West London) the public voted strongly against. It takes a particular brave mayor to risk upsetting public opinion, whatever the ultimate gain to the city as a whole.

So for significant smarter city projects like congestion charging to proceed as more than vanity projects of bold mayors, more work is needed to convince the public of its benefits. There are signs that this may be happening….As technology in related areas like telematics, car to car communications, automated parking systems etc progresses, the creation of a digital city road infrastructure can be seen as an enabler to drive innovation and new business opportunities. Many governments, including the US, UK, Germany, S Korea, Japan and Singapore have identified the potential of investing in traffic management and information services to drive business investment and jobs. There is a race to lead these industries of the future. But to join the race, let alone win it, cities will need first to convince their public that it’s worth it.

Mobile money has progressed by leaps and bounds in the recent years and a lot of innovations are happening globally. The industry is undergoing a lot of changes and ecosystem participants are trying to learn from their successes and failures to innovate further. I have been an avid follower of the various developments happening in the industry. In this post, I will capture my thoughts on key segments of growth/developments which I would expect to happen this year. I believe these segments of growth/developments have the potential to bring further scale and innovation in this industry:

1. Development of ‘App Store’ – I expect that some of the major mobile money service providers may open up their platforms via an Application Programming Interface (APIs) that allows third parties to hook in and innovate. This development has the potential to replicate the success of the ‘Apple Appstore’ by providing an incentivized ecosystem to the developers. They would develop innovative and customized applications for specific markets which would address specific needs and in turn, attract more customers to the service. Thinking further, an ecosystem of these Apps stores from various service providers can provide further scale up and growth opportunities to them.

For example, a Kenyan MPesa customer on his visit to Ghana, can simply download an app to pay parking fees or make some quick purchases in a busy market in Ghana. Implementing platform level and customer level interoperability would be the foundation to build this big ecosystem.

2. Transformation of traditional model of B2B payments – Increasingly, mobile money is finding its application in the Retail industry for Point of Sale (PoS) transactions. Interestingly, I would expect more Business to Business (B2B) mobile money solutions to emerge for various industries. These solutions would focus on transforming the way payments are being made throughout the value chain. The aim would be to reduce risk of carrying cash, optimize liquidity, and provide delivery of goods and payments with security.

For example, Coca-Cola Sabco is looking at the use of mobile money as a way to shift the supply chain of its Manual Distribution Centers away from cash. In Papua New Guinea, IFC is looking at piloting mobile money to reduce the use of cash in the coffee supply chain.

3. Development of new business models – Traditionally a Mobile Network Operator (MNO) or a bank provides the mobile money services either individually or in collaboration. Of late, new business models are emerging as different industries are exploring mobile money based custom applications.

For example, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), a leading telecom service provider in India, has a mobile banking platform which will help mobile subscribers to send money orders electronically. The unique thing is that this SMS based service is done in association with India Post. Receiver will be able to encash the SMS at all post offices in the country. Starbucks, a leading coffee chain is already among the most successful early adopters of mobile payments, claiming to have processed USD26 million in mobile transactions in the US just 12 months after launching the service. Recently, it has forged a partnership with Square that will see the mobile payments company power in-store credit and debit card payments for Starbucks.

I expect that more of these innovative and interesting partnerships will emerge which would utilize mobile money to conduct business more efficiently and effectively.

I look forward to your comments and observations. Please click “Add a Comment” below or “More Actions” to share this with others.

Yesterday, on Tuesday February 5, 2013, IBM CEO Ginni Rometty addressed more than 200 South African business leaders in Johannesburg. IBM has been doing business in Africa for more than 90 years. Most recently, the company has been expanding its presence by focusing investments in more than 20 African countries.

Current research suggests the top challenges African-based CIOs face today include:

Availability of skilled resources

Network and bandwith availability

Availability of liquid assets to secure investments in technology

Ensuring return on IT investment

Consistent and effective security policies

Familiarity of users and customers with new technologies

Tie to legacy environment and tools that constrains the ability to adopt new technologies

Implementation of technology standards across countries/regions

Ability to meet regulatory and compliance regulations

Stabilize and enhance IT infrastructure in support of the business

Ability to establish meaningful metrics

Improve risk management posture

Establish effective governance processes

As African-based CIOs rise to meet these challenges, should they look to the West or the East for their mentors?

To further explore how these CIOs strengthen and transform their organizations in light of these challenges, we're assessing competencies and capabilities that span:

Leadership

Business strategy and process

Business management

Risk management and compliance

Innovation and growth

Relationship management and communications

What competencies and capabilities do you see as most promising?

We look to answer these questions and several others for you when we publish our research later this year. Post a comment and contribute your opinion to the conversation!